Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE BLH5109

 
TITLE Research Methods

 
UM LEVEL 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course

 
MQF LEVEL 7

 
ECTS CREDITS 5

 
DEPARTMENT Conservation and Built Heritage

 
DESCRIPTION The lecture component of this study-unit will build on BLH4005 to introduce a range of fundamental research tools, including how to define a research question, research design, numeric data analysis, data interpretation, statistics for the social sciences, and the development and management of questionnaires and public consultations, in a conservation context.

The tutorial component will be designed to give students the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the specific tools that they will be requiring for their dissertation project.

The tutorials will be conducted in groups of students working in the same area, or one-on-one, as necessary.

The seminar sessions will give students the opportunity to discuss actual research problems they are encountering while defining their research question, and to learn from each other's experiences.

Study-unit Aims

The aims of the study-unit are:

- To make students aware of the range of research tools that are available.
- To help them make informed choices about which research tools and procedures may be suited to their research question, in order to define a realistic and feasible dissertation project.
- To deepen their understanding of the specific tools that they will be using, mastering the procedures required while becoming aware of the associated pitfalls.

Learning Outcomes

1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- List and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of some of the alternative approaches and research tools relevant to his or her dissertation project
- Explain why s/he has chosen a specific set of tools or procedures for his/her dissertation project

2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Identify which of the research methods covered in the course may be more suitable for a given research question.
- Set up a methodologically robust and detailed procedure / experimental design / survey for the research question selected for the respective dissertation project, including the suitable checks / controls / post survey evaluation and monitoring, in order to obtain sound and credible results.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings

Main Texts:

- Field, A. 2003. How to design and report experiments. Sage.
- Kuhn, T.S. 1996. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. 3rd Edition. University of Chicago Press.
- Popper, K., 2002. The Logic of Scientific Discovery. Routledge.
- Shennan, S. 1998. Quantifying Archaeology. Edinburgh University Press.

Supplementary Readings:

- Field, A. 2005. Discovering Statistics using SPSS. Sage.
- Oppenheim, A.N., 2000. Questionnaire Design, Interviewing and Attitude Measurement. 2nd Edition. Continuum.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Blended Learning

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Seminar Paper Yes 100%

 
LECTURER/S Gianmarco Alberti
Liberato Camilleri
Joseph Caruana
Reuben Grima
Chiara Pasian

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit